Trial F-35A deployment smooths path for first combat squadron –
Six F-35A of 31st Test Evaluation Squadron have deployed to Mountain Home AFB in Idaho this month for an “operational deployment test” that will clear the way for 10 operational jets from the first combat-coded squadron, which will follow this summer.

E-2D to carry out aerial refuelling test in 2016 –
Northrop Grumman expects to carry out the first aerial refuelling flight test of its E-2D Advanced Hawkeye airborne early warning and control aircraft towards the end of 2016, following delivery of the first example earmarked for upgrade to its St Augustine, Fla., facility.

U.S. official never disclosed wife’s Northrop account –
A U.S. Air Force arms buyer under investigation for violating financial disclosure rules never reported his wife’s retirement account with Northrop Grumman after their marriage in 2008, public disclosure forms seen by Reuters showed.

Canada will not exclude F-35 from competition to replace CF-18 –
Canada is to hold an “open” competition to replace its Boeing CF-18 Hornet fighters, and the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lighting II Joint Strike Fighter would not be excluded from this process, Canadian minister of national defence Harjit Sajjan announced Feb. 18.

Defense

Army to roll out better body armor, combat shirt in 2019 –
In 2019 the Army expects to roll out a new, lighter body armor system. The armor will provide at least as much protection as today’s system, but with more comfort, and greater flexibility to adjust based on the mission, Army officials said.

U.S. may put weapons in South China Sea –
Senior Army and Pentagon strategists and planners are considering ways to fire existing weapons platforms in new ways around the globe — including the possible placement of mobile artillery units in areas of the South China Sea to, if necessary, function as air-defense weapons to knock incoming rockets and cruise missiles out of the sky.

Biggest change for infantry since WWII: XM25 –
Buried in a bleak Army budget is a bright nugget of revolution: a precision-guided grenade launcher called the XM25. In difficult development for over a decade, the XM25 will finally enter limited production in 2017. It will be the first radically new small arms technology since 1943.

U.S. Army begins industry survey for Future Vertical Lift –
The U.S. Army has provided the clearest details yet about what in needs in a Future Vertical Lift (FVL) platform after releasing two requests for information for next-generation rotorcraft technologies and concepts in the lightly armed reconnaissance and mid-size utility/attack roles.

Decision nearing on where to fix damaged LCS –
The littoral combat ship Fort Worth remains sidelined at Singapore’s Changi Naval Base, waiting both for the results of a mishap investigation into how major portions of the ship’s propulsion gear was damaged and a decision on where to fix the ship.

Revealed: How to kill an F-35 Joint Strike Fighter –
The United States has poured tens of billions of dollars into developing fifth-generation stealth fighters such as the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. However, relatively simple signal processing enhancements, combined with a missile with a large warhead and its own terminal guidance system, could potentially allow low-frequency radars and such weapons systems to target and fire on the latest generation U.S. aircraft.

Veterans

Senator lifts hold on VA inspector general nominee –
Republican Oklahoma Sen. Jim Inhofe Feb. 23 lifted his hold on the White House’s nominee to take over the Veterans Affairs inspector general post, opening the possibility the agency could get a new head watchdog in coming days.

VA pitches plan for executive firings to Senate –
The Department of Veterans Affairs told the Senate Feb. 23 that its plan to take sole control over firing executives could help fill dozens of vacant management posts at veteran medical facilities across the country.

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